Success
or failure while being self-determined, can sometimes just be the result of a
bounce of a puck, or better known as the "upset". However, in most
cases, as an old saying states "the harder I work the luckier I seem to
get" personifies most playoff hockey. We know that playoff hockey is
different than regular season play. This is in most part of the "do or die"
philosophy so the level of intensity or, level of desperation is much higher.
How players perform under pressure in either one on one situations (personal
interactive skills) or in team concepts ultimately dictates personal and team
success.

Coaches
and players in most cases underestimate critical performance training. Critical
performance training pertains to personal or team skills and tactics performed
under the highest possible pressure and intensity. Identifying a team's weakness
and/or strength as well as an opponent's becomes an integral part of a coach's
practice plan. The question is how much, or what skills and, how much, or what
system should a coach practice.

When a
player performs under extreme pressure, habits (good or bad) play a critical
role in success. I like to say that a team performs under high pressure to the
ultimate level of personal stupidity. Not to be-little any player and this is
only a saying but the concept that I am trying to get across is that a team is
just the sum of many parts; big and small, slow and fast, aggressive and
passive, etc. How each part performs is essential to overall success. The
"team" is
only as strong as the sum of its collective parts.

However,
during a game there are only so many things that we as coaches can take into
consideration and try to cover in practice. And, how many situations that we can
cover is directly linked to a player/s ability to learn. For example: How many repetitions
does it take a player to learn a new tactic, a new move? How long does it take a
player to use that tactic or skill in a high pressure environment? How many
times can I depend on that player to execute that skill or tactic successfully?
What happens to the confidence of that player if he/she should make a mistake
using that skill or tactic? Is that player willing to use that skill or tactic
again after failure?

Basically,
a player has two basic mental functions; conscious and subconscious (thinking on
one's feet and reacting without thinking). So....., there you have it. Now what
can we do
about it.

Some
factors to consider from a coaching stand point.

1 - What
type of team do you have

- fast

-
aggressive

- skilled

- role
(combination of the above)

2 - How
do they learn best?

- visual
(seeing)

- audio
(hearing)

- kinesthetic
(feeling and doing)

3 - How
much practice time do you have?

- once
per week

- twice
per week

- three
per week

- four +

From a
players stand point:

1 - What
type of coaching staff do you have?

- bench
coach (bench managers - use players well on ice)

-
teachers (tactical) like to teach systems

-
teachers (skill) like to work on skill development

-
motivators (talk the talk and you walk the walk)

- just
happy to be there!

2 -
What type of team mates do you have?

-
competitive (hate losing)

- players
(like to have fun)

- role
players (players that you can use or that you can benefit)

- quick
learners

-
intimidating

-
intimidated

- selfish

3 - What
are your personal goals?

- make
the next level

- be the
best player you can be

- don't
care as long as the team wins

- just
take life as it comes - just keep working hard

- I
want....

- mom or
dad would like......

Enough
said.

So what
the heck am I getting so long winded for and what does this all mean? Good
question. Just venting....just kidding.

I like to
think that a player can be placed into one of several categories relative to his
ability to contribute to a hockey team's success:

1 -
Passion - drives a player's desire to play the game

2 -
Competitiveness - drives a player's desire to win

3 -
Personal goals - drives a player's desire to learn

4 -
Learning speed - drives a player's ability to apply new skills, tactics, etc in
game play

5 -
Acceptance - knowing one's limitations and willingness to play within those
parameters.

7 -
Realism - how good am I really? (I know that this is everyone's favorite).

(you
could probably add a few....)

I could
devote pages on passion, competitiveness and working out one's personal goals,
however, for my purposes, I would like to focus on Learning.

1 - Learning
or better yet; what am I
learning, how does this benefit me, how does this benefit the team, where can I
use this, etc. Learning speed; can I use this, why should I use this, how
often am I going to use this, how often am I going to practice this (on my own)
how often is the coach going to let me practice this, how good is my teacher
(how is the information presented to me).

What ever
the case, when you watch players over the course of a season, you can see which
player falls into what category. When you watch a player over the course of a
couple of seasons you can really see where they fall. Unfortunately, some
players never improve because of the coaches or teachers that they have no
control over. Where do you as a player fall?

The most
important point and last one at that is that a player must be willing to face
their weakness and be proud of their strengths. I have asked some of the player
that I work with to provide me with the following:

Contact
10 people that you respect in the hockey world (not your parents or best buddy),
coaches, scouts, agents, opposing players, etc and get the answers to the
following questions (demand honest answers no matter is they hurt your
feelings):

1 - What
is the worst criticism that you have of me as a player?

2 - What
is my best attribute?

3 - What
role do you feel that fits me the most?

4 - Why?

5 - What
is the most important skating skill that you think that I need to work on?

6 - What
other skill do you think that I need to work on that would benefit me the most?

7 - What
are my chances of getting to the next level?

8 - Why?
(positive or negative)

9 - What
do I have to do to get to the next level?

10 -
Would you let me know next season if you feel that I have improved in the areas
that you commented on?

I have
always remembered another saying; " the will to win is almost as important
as the will to prepare to win"

If 3 or
more of these people have the same criticism, you had better change, if only one
has a particular criticism, listen well but don't dwell on it. Search out the
people who can help you correct these problems. Learn and learn fast. Be the
best that you can be. Remember the choice is yours.